William the Conqueror was a Norman and not a direct descendent of any of the Saxon Kings before him. He won England from the Saxons. Every King/Queen after William the Conqueror was his direct descendent, therefore the monarchy ruling over England as one country did start with him.

It was only thru his wife and his son's (King Henry I) wife that Saxon royal blood was brought back.

^It was already a Kingdom under King Harold who fought William at the Battle of Hastings. The RF are connected to the Saxon Royal house through a number of lines.

After William the Conqueror, King Harold's blood thru his daughter (Gytha) did not return to England's RF until Edward III married Philippa of Hainault. Philippa of Hainault was a descendent of King Harold.

True, but members of the British Royal Family are direct descendants of Anglo-Saxon Kings, so I wouldn't say that the monarchy as we know it began with William the Conqueror. It's all by-the-by though.

Queen's Elizabeth's ancestry through the Cerdic and the West Saxon royal line (including Alfred the Great):

^I think that Gytha had other descendents that link to the BRF as well. There were a number from the Kievian RF that married into Bohemian, Polish and Northern European families and these subsequentky intermarried with Danish French and British Royalty.

With the screening of the BBC's White Queen drama series only weeks away, many questions about the life of Elizabeth Wydeville remain unanswered. None more so than that of her marriage. Depicted by Philippa Gregory as a beautiful siren, claiming her descent from the mythical water spirit Melusine, Elizabeth's love story with Edward IV will unfold before thousands of eager viewers. As the series will show, it was a controversial match, shrouded in secrecy, which was deeply unpopular with Edward's nobles. After his death, rumours of a pre-contract made by the lusty King to another woman, proved the means by which his children were declared illegitimate. Yet, at the start, Edward may not have intended to honour his marriage at all. The secrecy and reputed date of the ceremony points to a lost tradition that may help us better understand his motives.

Edward was no innocent when he met the widowed Elizabeth, reputedly waiting to waylay him in the forest of Whittlebury. According to contemporary chroniclers, he already had something of a reputation with the ladies and may have fathered existing illegitimate children. One claimed he "overcame all" with promises and money whilst another said the new king thought of nothing but women. It was probably not the first time he had seen the beautiful blonde, yet the match came as a surprise to all. Elizabeth's application to Lord Hastings for assistance, in spring 1464, implies she was unaware that she would soon remarry; otherwise she had no need to appeal to Hastings as a protector. This squeezes the courtship into a very rapid timescale. However fuelled by lust he may have been, Edward was no fool. It seems unlikely that he would have risked making a permanent union so quickly, particularly as his subsequent silence shows he knew how controversial the match would prove. It is far more probable that the secret May Day "ceremony" was for the benefit of the bride and her family.